For a decade, Jennifer Crow cared for her elderly parents, who have multiple sclerosis. After his father had a stroke in December, the family became serious in their conversations with a retirement community – and learned that one service offered was vaccination against Covid-19.
“They mentioned it as an amenity, like ‘We have a pool and a vaccination program,'” said Crow, a librarian in southern Maryland. “It was definitely attractive to me.” Vaccines, she felt, would help ease her concerns about whether a life situation in the congregation would be safe for her parents and for her to visit; she has lupus, an autoimmune disease.
As the number of coronavirus deaths increases and the demand for Covid-19 vaccines decreases, an army of hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and long-term care facilities is tasked with sending vaccines to arms. Some are also using this function to attract new business – the latest reminder that health, even in the midst of a global pandemic, is a commercial enterprise in which some see opportunities to be seized.
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“Most private sector companies that distribute vaccines are motivated by the public health imperative. At some point, their DNA also comes into play, “said Roberta Clarke, associate professor emeritus of marketing at Boston University.
Among households for the elderly – which saw the biggest drop in employment last year – some companies are selling vaccines to recruit residents. Sarah Ordover, owner of Assisted Living Locators Los Angeles, a referral agency, said that many in her area are offering vaccines “as a sweetener” to potential residents, sometimes if they agree to move in before a scheduled vaccination clinic.
Oakmont Senior Living, a high-quality retirement community network with 34 locations, primarily in California, has announced “exclusive access” to vaccines through social media and email. A call to action on social media says: “Book your apartment at home now to schedule your appointment at the Vaccine Clinic!”
Although the vaccine offer was a selling point for Crow, it was not for his parents, who were not concerned with hiring Covid-19 and did not want to give up their independence, she said. Finally, they moved in with their sister, who could provide home care services.
This marketing approach can influence others. Irvine-based Oakmont Senior Living reported 92 changes in their communities last month, up 13 percent from January 2020, noting that the vaccine is “just one factor among many” in the decision to become one. resident.
But some object that facilities use vaccines as a marketing tool. “I think it’s unethical,” said Dr. Michael Carome, director of health research at the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. Although he believes the facility should provide residents with vaccines, he fears that tying ropes to a vaccine could coerce the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable and desperate for vaccines, to sign a rental contract.
Tony Chicotel, a lawyer at California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, fears that seniors and their families may make less informed decisions when encouraged to sign by a certain date. “Are you thinking, ‘I have to be transferred next week or I won’t have that chance. I don’t have time to read everything in this 38-page contract, ”” he said.
Oakmont Senior Living responded by email: “Potential residents and their families always receive the information they need to be confident in their decision to choose Oakmont.”
Some people say the facility is simply meeting the demand for Covid-19 vaccines. “Who is going to put an elderly person in a place without a vaccine? Congregational life has been a hotbed of the virus, ”said Patti Patrizi, a retired philanthropy consultant. She and her son recently chose a retirement community in Los Angeles for their ex-husband for a multitude of reasons unrelated to vaccines. However, they accelerated the move in two weeks to coincide with a vaccination clinic.
“It was definitely not a marketing tool for me,” said Patrizi. “It was my insistence that he needs it before he can live there.”
The concept of using vaccines to market a business is not new. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic started influenza vaccines at drugstores, and pharmacies have since credited flu vaccines with increased sales and prescriptions in stores. Many offer coupons, gift cards or reward points to recipients of the vaccine.
Some pharmacies continued these marketing activities while launching Covid-19 vaccines. On its Covid-19 vaccine information website, Pharmacy CVS encouraged visitors to sign up for its rewards program to earn credits for vaccinations. The Albertsons supermarket and drugstore chain and its subsidiaries have a button on their Covid-19 vaccine information website that says “Transfer your prescription.”
But the pandemic is not normal, said Alison Taylor, a professor of business ethics at New York University. “This is a public health emergency,” she said. Companies that distribute Covid-19 vaccines should ask themselves, “How can we get society to get immunity more quickly?” instead of “How many customers can I sign up for?” she said.
In an email response, CVS said it removed the reference to its rewards program from its Covid-19 vaccination page. Patients will not receive rewards for receiving a Covid-19 vaccine at their pharmacies, the company said, and its focus remains on administering the vaccines.
Albertsons said by email that his Covid-19 vaccine information pages are intended to be a complete resource and that information about additional services is at the bottom of those pages.
Free vaccine membership
Boston University’s Clarke sees no harm in these marketing activities. “As long as the patient is free to say ‘no thanks’ and does not think he will be penalized for not receiving the vaccine, there is no problem,” she said.
At least one healthcare provider is offering free services to people eligible for Covid-19 vaccines. Primary care provider One Medical – now vaccinating people in several states, including California – offers a free 90-day membership for groups, such as people aged 75 and over, that a local health department instructed the company to vaccinate, according to an email from a company spokesman who noted that vaccine delivery and eligibility requirements vary by country.
The company said it offers membership – which involves scheduling online vaccines, second dose reminders and on-demand telehealth visits for acute issues – because it believes it can and should do so, especially when many are struggling to get care.
While these may well be the company’s motives, a free trial is also a marketing tactic, said Dr. Bob Kocher, a health technology investor in Silicon Valley. Whether it’s Costco or One Medical, any company that offers a free sample expects recipients to buy the product, he said.
Offering free trial memberships may be worthwhile for providers like One Medical, he said; local health departments can refer many patients, and converting part of the vaccine containers into members may offer a cheaper way for providers to get new patients than to find them on their own.
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“There is usually no free material at the provider and you have to be sick to try medical care. This is a very unique circumstance, ”said Kocher, who does not see improving public health and taking advantage of an unusual marketing opportunity as mutually exclusive here. “Vaccination is a super valuable way to help people,” he said. “A free trial is also a great way to market your service.”
One Medical insisted that the membership test is not a marketing ploy, noting that the company is not collecting credit card information during registration or self-enrolling test participants in paid subscriptions. But patients will receive an email notifying them before the trial ends, with an invitation to enroll as a member, the company said.
Advocates of health equity say that more attention needs to be given to people who escape the radar of marketers – but who are at the greatest risk of contracting and dying from Covid-19, and those least likely to be vaccinated .
Kathryn Stebner, a lawyer who abuses the elderly in San Francisco, noted that the high cost of many assisted living facilities is often prohibitive for the working class and people of color.
“African Americans are dying [from Covid-19] at a rate three times that of whites, ”she said. “Are they getting these vaccine offers?”